Why Cash Will Remain King, Even in the Promised Land of Digital Money

If you talk to tech companies, telecom companies, and even some NGOs, they will tell you that the future of money in Africa is based on technology.

They are right, in part, but not for the reasons you might think.

While mobile payment systems, such as Kenya’s M-Pesa and South Africa’s SnapScan, are proliferating, the real technology powering Africa’s economic growth is cash. As GDP in Africa grows, so, too, does the banking system and the demand for banknotes.

It’s easy to overlook it, but cash is a technology itself. Banknotes are constantly being improved, whether with watermarks, metallic threads, color-shifting inks, or holograms. These improvements – and others like them – make cash a more durable, more secure and more efficient payment instrument.